1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to protection systems and enclosures for protecting specified items in harsh environmental situations, such as flood, fire, etc. and, in particular, to a storage medium protection system that provides a secure enclosure to protect a user's storage medium, such as a hard drive or other valuable media, in the case of such an adverse physical or harsh environmental occurrence or condition.
2. Description of Related Art
As technology advances and information chiefly resides in electronic form, as opposed to paper form, the value of this information is exceedingly important. Accordingly, there is a need to protect this information during certain situations. For example, when using a typical personal computer or laptop, with a hard drive or similar storage medium therein, the information stored on the storage medium is subject to outside conditions, such as adverse physical or harsh environmental occurrences or conditions. If a flood or fire would occur, and this condition impacts a personal computer or a laptop, all of the data and information stored on the hard drive would be lost if not properly backed up. Unfortunately, very few people back up their hard drives on a regular basis, and this “back-up” procedure typically occurs only sporadically, even in a corporate setting.
In order to protect the data on one's hard drive, many presently-available systems require the user to continually upload the data to an offsite location. Other systems require the user to save a copy of important data or information to a DVD or CD ROM. However, both of these methods are very time consuming, and renting hard drive or storage space at an offsite location is extremely expensive, especially when considering long-term storage. In addition, most users, whether on a personal level or a corporate level, are resistant to taking the time and the necessary steps to back up the data.
One well-known system for protection of data is a “Black Box” enclosure. This type of enclosure provides a local data protection system, however, this Black Box uses a solid state memory chip, which has no moving parts. Such solid state memory chips must not overheat, as there is no air flow inside the enclosure. Still further, a solid state memory chip is highly expensive technology to purchase and implement, and accordingly, these Black Boxes are typically only used by large corporate entities or airlines.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a storage medium protection system that provides a safe and easy way to back up or store data at an onsite location. There is also a need for an onsite storage mechanism that is affordable by the consumer, and protects the consumer's data on the storage medium in the event of a harsh environmental situation or other undesirable conditions.